I think I am going to print this quote and have it framed. It eloquently displays what I hope to obtain when I write. I especially like the bit about the surprise ending. It is a tall order to put all those elements into a short story. But it sets a standard with merit.
What do you think? Has Amy left anything out?
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Keep on writing.
Jo Hawk The Writer
Title: Fate
Source: Friday Fictioneers sponsored by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields-Addicted to Purple
Word count: 100 words
PHOTO PROMPT © Gah Learner
I watch the moon as it rises, the worst is upon me. The instant when the moon is full will test my resolve. Anticipation chained me in my room for three days. Battle rage flows in me, demanding I break the restraints, break out, break my vow. I lower my head staring at the deep grooves in the floor cut by my massive claws. Saliva oozes from my jaw, long sticky streams dangle and fill the voids in the floor. Thundering blood chases rational thought, forcing it to quiver and hide. A tortured howl sounds the call, sealing my fate.
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Keep on writing.
Jo Hawk The Writer
Okay, okay. I know this isn’t technically a quote, but it seems appropriate.
I think I had better go write something.
What are you doing today?
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Keep on writing.
Jo Hawk The Writer
Title: World’s End
Source: FLASH FICTION FOR THE PURPOSEFUL PRACTITIONER- 2018 WEEK #36
Word count: 200 words
Michael (Black) Ritter pexels-photo-41506
I spin through revolving doors leaving sirens, bus exhaust and the thundering din of a thousand people behind me. Hank waves from the security desk where he chats with another guard. I enter the metal cube, the doors close and I fly skyward. Up and up, forty-five stories in the air. My ears pop as I ascend, and a melodic ring tells me I have arrived. I am home.
The apartment is sparse; I require only the essentials. It is a welcome relief from the sensory overload that pummels my nerves whenever I am elsewhere. Floor to ceiling windows enclose the apartment and offer views of the city skyline, the sea, and sky. Clouds roll, black and foreboding advancing on my sliver of heaven, my haven at the World’s End.
I lay on the hardwood floor as the storm engulfs me. The building shifts and sways, glass windows bulge and wind howls through spaces and gaps I cannot see. Rain pelts the windows while far below tiny people sprout umbrellas and traffic slows. I envy the storms rage, an emotion from which I am banned. My apartment cradles me, rocks me, eases tension from my soul. At last, I sleep.
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Keep on writing.
Jo Hawk The Writer
This quote perplexes me. It seems to me the short story demands a deeper level of representation. In a novel, you have real estate to develop a character. Your character in a short story should not be any less complex than one in a novel. The issue then becomes how you allow the reader to identify with the character without the verbiage.
What do you think?
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Keep on writing.
Jo Hawk The Writer
Title: Permit
Source: 100 Word Wednesday: Week 87
Word count: 100 words
Image by Bikurgurl
“You must paint over it.” The police officer stood on Alma’s porch, hands planted on his hips.
“I will not,” Alma said. “Off my property. I have your card and I plan to phone your supervisor.” Alma’s voice rose as she tried to shut the door.
“Show me your permit and I’ll be on my way.”
Alma released the door, almost toppling the officer as she pushed past him. She ran down the stairs, around the corner and jabbed her finger at the wall.
“You blind fool. Look. Enzo said this would happen, so he attached it to the wall.”
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Keep on writing.
Jo Hawk The Writer
I like short stories, but then I have always like the bad boy. Honestly, I think there is much to commend the short story, especially in our current time of short attention spans, limited time and busy schedules. Perhaps we shall see the format grow.
What form do you prefer?
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Keep on writing.
Jo Hawk The Writer
Photo credit: GoToVan on Visual hunt / CC BY
Bob eased his walker along the display case full of every kind of doughnut imaginable. His grandson Liam focused on his phone, stood behind him. Bob reached the end of the case and slowly turned to walk a third time in front of the doughnuts.
Liam sighed and slipped his phone into his pocket.
“Granddad? Really? Can’t you just pick a doughnut? Hell, pick a dozen, I don’t care, but they are waiting on us.”
“Let ‘em wait,” Bob said and took two shuffling steps then stopped to scan the display case again.
“Why do you have to have a doughnut? We’re gonna eat if we ever get there,” Liam’s hands flapped as he spoke.
“Ah, your mother can’t cook.”
“Have you decided yet?”
“I can’t find what I want. You’d think with all these damn doughnuts they’d have a plain doughnut hidden somewhere,” Bob lifted the walker and gave it a vicious shake.
The woman behind the counter finished with her customer and walked towards Bob.
“Good morning sir,” she smiled, her full focus on Bob. “Can I help you find something?”
“You have anything that resembles a plain doughnut?” Bob said, his gaze never leaving the long case.
“Of course, sir,” she grabbed a paper and as if by magic presented plain cake doughnut to him.
“Nah, not that plain. Aren’t doughnuts supposed to have some sort of icing.”
“I think I know what you are looking for” she disappeared the offending doughnut, slid two steps right and offered Bob a glazed doughnut. “Is this it?”
“Where did you find that? Yes, that’s it.”
“How many?”
“Better make it two dozen.”
“Granddad,” Liam’s voice raised, and he touched Bob’s arm. “Are you sure we need that many? Mom is cooking.”
Bob snorted, “Exactly.”
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Keep on writing.
Jo Hawk The Writer
Give and take, ebb and flow, yin and yang. One does not exist without the other. Protagonist vs antagonist, good vs evil, Joe vs the volcano. There are things I like to write more than others and I realized to keep readers engaged I need to give them time to catch their breath and recover from the drama.
How do you ensure your writing is counter-balanced?
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Keep on writing.
Jo Hawk The Writer
Title: Battle Above the Clouds
Source: Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers
Word count: 160 words
This week’s photo prompt is provided by Jodi McKinney. Thank you, Jodi!
We woke in darkness. General Geary ordered us to prepare to cross Lookout Creek at dawn. The November morning dawned chilly and damp in the valley. Our brigade massed as the fog swirled around us. The creek water ran high, and we waited. An hour and a half past dawn the water ebbed, and we received orders to move. Crossing the footbridge, we knew the objective was to meet near the Cravens house.
The mist and fog rose as we advanced up the mountain. We engaged in skirmishes with an enemy we could not see. The terrain proved rougher than any we had encountered. Rocks large and small had fallen from the mountain’s wall littered deep ravines. The forest claimed any space not occupied by rocks. Our force outnumbered the rebels, yet each step was a battle, and we fought to claim the inaccessible heights of Lookout Mountain. The mountain was ours and the battle above the clouds became folklore.
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Keep on writing.
Jo Hawk The Writer
Jo Hawk 